How much is the bonus? If it doesn't come out to what you'd be getting with hourly pay w/ overtime, then you're just kidding yourself.
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What's the best pay structure: Hourly, salary, tips, or commission?
- Thread starter ThLunarian
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How much is the bonus? If it doesn't come out to what you'd be getting with hourly pay w/ overtime, then you're just kidding yourself.
Hourly is my preference. I've had a couple salary positions before and ended up being horribly underpaid relative to the amount of work I put in. Fortunately I now work at a company were almost everyone gets paid by the hour. Even my boss, who is the secretary/treasurer of the company, is paid by the hour (at like $60/hr).
shadowsdarknes
Member
Seriously, you called her out? Not only is she promoting for the company (future employers will love this), she is also trying to get her friends there so she can have fun at her job, while making an extra dollar, and impressing her restaurant manager/colleagues all at the same time. You could probably learn a thing or two from her.
Salary would have originally been my answer but now its hourly for me. Im guaranteed 40 hours a week but get paid hourly so I get paid OT. My company abuses people by making us work 40+ hour weeks all year long so I get a hell of a lot more pay than the people who are currently salary.
On paper, hourly. You can pick up extra shifts/work overtime and make a little more money, and some hourly jobs have benefits. Don't really have the skills for jobs with tips/commission.
Salary is nice because of the things that normally come with it, but purely as a pay structure it has its drawbacks. I like getting paid for holidays but wish I got paid for working more than 40 hours a week
Salary is nice because of the things that normally come with it, but purely as a pay structure it has its drawbacks. I like getting paid for holidays but wish I got paid for working more than 40 hours a week
NEOPARADIGM
Banned
I'm in real estate and a 6% commission on a routine $250,000 sale is a cool fifteen grand. When you get into high-end territory, even standard-split 3% on a $750,000 sale is over 20 thousand bucks.
The negatives of working on commission go without saying, but one can make it work very well.
The negatives of working on commission go without saying, but one can make it work very well.
jchap
Member
This... everyone else in the thread is missing the point.
Colonel Mustard
Banned
Salary + Bonus is the best.
Commission wasn't bad while working through school though. I worked at Verizon and made about $40k/Year or so. I was the only one of my friends that wasn't constantly broke and lived pretty comfortably, so I can't knock that pay-structure. (If you're a decent sales person.)
Commission wasn't bad while working through school though. I worked at Verizon and made about $40k/Year or so. I was the only one of my friends that wasn't constantly broke and lived pretty comfortably, so I can't knock that pay-structure. (If you're a decent sales person.)
of course it's just a fraction.
But then, I get 40 hours pay regardless of how many hours I'm utilized plus sick days, holidays and vacation.
the number of companies willing to give you all that and remain hourly are few.
nVidiot_Whore
Banned
Hourly rate w/ overtime over 40.. BY FAR.
Assuming we are discussing jobs where it's at LEAST "Full time" guaranteed.
For people stuck working retail or something I can see the appeal of why you'd think salary would be better.. because you associate salaried jobs with "guaranteed" or perhaps even "higher paid".. but once you are in a career where guaranteed hours aren't an issue, hourly is much better.
Assuming we are discussing jobs where it's at LEAST "Full time" guaranteed.
For people stuck working retail or something I can see the appeal of why you'd think salary would be better.. because you associate salaried jobs with "guaranteed" or perhaps even "higher paid".. but once you are in a career where guaranteed hours aren't an issue, hourly is much better.
I'm currently making $90 an hour w/ $135 an hour OT. There is never a time I'm not guaranteed 40 hours.. and I'm allowed up to 4 hours OT every single week if I want to take it. I'm dreading going back to salary once my existing job is shifted away from contractors.. but I've been hanging on going on 6 years now.
I might actually smile at work for this.
I've never really grasped why salary is supposed to be so much better. I've only ever worked hourly jobs, but how is not getting paid for every hour of work you do a better deal? I'll echo what other people have said and it seems everyone I know who's salaried ends up working a lot more hours than hourly people for some mysterious reason.
hahahahahaaha at the Salary choice.
If you are working at an office job, you want to be paid hourly. Because
1) You are there for 40 hours a week no matter what
2) Those weeks you do 50, 60, 70, or even 80 suck when you aren't getting overtime.
And yes, there are desk jobs that pay hourly. In one of our entry pay bands at my company, some employees sued to have their job code be exempted, and they won/settled. So, the entry level analysts get paid hourly, while everyone above them is salaried.
GoldenEye 007
Member
I work a desk job that is full-time hourly. I'd think hourly is better because of the overtime situation.
But I imagine salary to be a bit more flexible schedule wise?
But I imagine salary to be a bit more flexible schedule wise?
I know how to use Facebook to promote business. I also know the difference between a company advertisement and someone you know asking you to come contribute to their paycheck.
What are you doing that pays that kind of cash?
Oh, and OP, as someone who has worked all three kinds of jobs you are asking about, I can state for certain that salary is by far superior.
FieryBalrog
Member
Yup.
Obviously people are going to say whatever works best for them. Of course, that's not always what you're going to get.
I get paid $45 hourly, but I almost always work just 40 hours a week so for me salary would easily be a nice bonus. I'd get paid a little less up front but get much better benefits and much better job security.
That's the point.
Manmademan
Member
base salary plus bonus/commission is where the money is.
salary alone, commission alone (lol!) or salary plus tips sucks
salaried is better because it's guaranteed pay. Being optimistic, it means you're not punching a time clock and can leave and come in when your work is done/needs to be done, not when it's 5:00. Edit: case in point- as a new dad there's been more than one day where I've had to leave at noon, or maybe 2:00 to pick up a sick kid from daycare. NOT having to ask permission or take a hit to my paycheck for times like these is worth a LOT.
Being pessimistic, hourly employees in theory can have their hours (and thus benefits) cut. I've seen this happen in previous jobs- it's rare, but when things get tight hourly employees get shit on first.
salary alone, commission alone (lol!) or salary plus tips sucks
salaried is better because it's guaranteed pay. Being optimistic, it means you're not punching a time clock and can leave and come in when your work is done/needs to be done, not when it's 5:00. Edit: case in point- as a new dad there's been more than one day where I've had to leave at noon, or maybe 2:00 to pick up a sick kid from daycare. NOT having to ask permission or take a hit to my paycheck for times like these is worth a LOT.
Being pessimistic, hourly employees in theory can have their hours (and thus benefits) cut. I've seen this happen in previous jobs- it's rare, but when things get tight hourly employees get shit on first.
GravityMan
Member
Salary...especially with a bonus. I prefer the convenience, the flexibility, etc. It does have its downsides - such as some companies forcing you to work way more than 40 hours/week (contrary to written job description and duties) - but if you are careful about what companies you work for (do your research), the downsides can be largely avoided.
I also prefer the salary model from a manager/supervisor standpoint. Don't have to worry much about keeping track of your team's hours, overtime, lunch breaks, etc.
I also prefer the salary model from a manager/supervisor standpoint. Don't have to worry much about keeping track of your team's hours, overtime, lunch breaks, etc.
But once you get put on salary there is nothing to stop your employer from working you 50-60 hours unless you have a clause that pays you OT(pretty rare). The entire reason you work just 40 hours is basically OT becomes very costly very quickly. Once your go over 40 hours on salary your hourly rate takes a nosedive.
FieryBalrog
Member
I know, but that's not really how it works where I work. My boss is salaried and he works 40 hours a week pretty steadily. I know a lot of other salaried employees and most of them work 40-45 hour weeks. Only certain people who are higher up or in certain support jobs work more on a consistent basis. During crunch time I might be putting in more, but I'm already putting in a little more during those times (which aren't often).
FieryBalrog
Member
Yeah, you typically don't get paid time off, which sucks obviously.
Manmademan
Member
What stops your employer from making you work "60 hours weeks" is that 60 hour weeks are highly unusual. It cripples your ability to carry on a normal family/social life. The only people I know regularly clocking in 60+ hours a week demand a shit ton of money. In my field, it isn't even practical to have this happen, since 90% of the business world works 9 to 5. There's no one around to do business with unless I'm working with the west coast.
If my job suddenly changed it's expectation, whether it was because of shifting me to salary, someone else quitting, etc- they'd need to substantially increase the pay to compensate, or expect to start bleeding employees REALLY fast.
Exentryk
Member
Yup. Only do 40-45 hours a week, and there is no way the boss can pull you up on doing more . America is under a bit of stress though with the economy so maybe people are perceiving some pressure?
StriKeVillain
Banned
I'm salaried - wish I was hourly (or got overtime). Since I'm not, I land at my desk sometime after 9a every morning.
Exentryk
Member
And I though I was bad at 8:30 am. Well done, sir.
ConradCervantes
Banned
My boss when I worked at Gamestop all those horrible years ago would put in 65 hours a week during the holidays. I seriously worried about his mental health because I'd catch him talking to himself in the backroom, every other word punctuated by a curse.
Manmademan
Member
For retail during the holidays? That's nothing.
My first year working holidays for circuit city back in 1999, I worked open to close (that was about 9am to 10pm or so) every day for nearly a solid month straight- all through December to the day after christmas.
Why would I do this? because on commission I was pulling in nearly $300 a day. I'd never SEEN that much money. Work enough that month and I could afford to just not work quite a bit for the next semester. The following holiday seasons I would work as much as I could, but never quite THAT much again.
Corran Horn
May the Schwartz be with you
At my stage of my life hourly is great. OT is a nice thing to receive 
I can make more money than my salaried managers in my current job.
I can make more money than my salaried managers in my current job.
computers putin'
Member
I've known so many people to get overworked on salary. 6 years ago my store manager at Toys R Us used to only get 2 or 3 hours of sleep during the holidays, and sometimes he just stayed at the store and took a nap somewhere; afterwards he'd just get back up and go to work again. All of those extra hours he wasn't getting paid for.....
CrookedRain
Member
This has nothing to do with hourly vs salary. You're comparing benefited to non-benefited employees.
led4lyfe
Member
It all depends on the job and if your employer lets you get OT. The place where I work, everyone who is salaried has to work a minimum of 47.5 hours a week. Some of the salaried people are overtime eligible and get extra cash after the 47.5 hours worked, most arent though. I'm just hourly, but when we're busy I get upwards to 90 hours a week. least amount of hours I got in the past year was 20
Damn. I'm salaried and can work a MAXIMUM of 37.5 hours a week. (unless there's an emergency)
Unions are way too weak in the US,
people are not getting payed overtime for working overtime? thats crazy!
in my country the employer would be taken to court for that
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